August 6, 2013

American Politics from a Different Perspective

Working as an intern at Talking Eyes Media,
I have had my finger in many pies, but certainly one of the most interesting
projects I worked on was the documentary Bring It to The Table. This is an ongoing project that aims to break down
partisanship in America and promote free, unfettered discourse on the political
issues that sit at the heart of this country. It proved a particularly
interesting experience for me, as unlike my native-born co-workers, I am a
London-born, British national. Though I am a close follower of American
politics and I certainly hold my own personal beliefs, I cannot profess to have
any real stake in the issues that are so important and consequential to
millions across this nation. While this might not have given me complete objectivity
in approaching this documentary, I do believe I was in a unique position to
understand and appreciate the range of beliefs that occupy the American
political spectrum. In the same way that the spectator, unlike the player
consumed in the heat of the action, sees more of the game.

A key aspect of my work was researching not
only examples of partisanship being perpetuated in the media—by news anchors
and politicians alike—but also evidence of why
we should really be concerned. Though Bring
It can be identified more as a campaign to encourage the voting populace to
engage in active conversation with each other and examine their own beliefs, it
is undeniable the role the media and politicians have in shaping and defining
that discourse. I found an abundance of videos of senators bravely standing up
in Congress against partisanship. Their rhetoric was inspiring and hopeful, but
their actions rarely mirrored their sentiments and, more often than not, went
in direct contradiction. Take this video of John Boehner passionately arguing
against partisanship on the floor and then here shamelessly admitting he
believes Congress should be judged by the laws they repeal rather than the laws they
pass. The inertia of the legislative process, the polarization of party
politics, and the dramatic rise of the filibuster, were the consistent, gloomy
headlines that came across in recent studies and statistics of the Capital.

In researching American media and news
organizations I was perhaps most struck by the unashamed theatrics of it all.
There certainly seemed an equal, if not weighted, duty to entertain rather than
inform across all news stations. Of course I was familiar with the stridently
partisan Fox News before beginning this research, but what shocked me the most
is that this was not unique to the right. MSNBC clearly promoted a left wing,
partisan agenda. Although with my liberal sensibilities the talking points of
MSNBC felt a lot more reasonable, one can certainly hold them guilty to much of
the same editorializing and partisanship as Fox. Even if organizations such as
CNN can be excused from being partisan, too often the content and quality of
their discussions still left much to be desired; as Jon Stewart said in this
historic indictment, ‘you guys are hurting America’.

So from this you may conclude that my
research drew for me a hopeless picture for the future of American politics,
with polarization in Washington and a mainstream media lacking in integrity. But
that is truly not the impression I was left with. Yes the system is broken in many
ways but for me this just underlined the importance of the individual in the
political process. And that is what I feel Bring
It to The Table is all about: Taking responsibility of one’s own beliefs,
not just owning them, but rigorously challenging and questioning them. If this
mindset can be instilled in the young minds of this country, I believe American
politics still holds much promise. There is everything to gain and nothing to
lose when it comes to concertedly sitting down and listening to the other side.